portraits and sunflowers
by reronettie
Summary: A series of small things cause 'Drew' to remember being Franco and Franco would do anything to reunite with his wife and family. A Friz Fanfic.


The man who believed he was Drew Cain sat in the cafe of the Amtrak station. The court released him from his ankle monitor and he was more than ready to leave Port Charles. He told Kim the previous day that he would be here waiting for her until the train left. If she loved him even half as much as he loved her she would come to the station, and they would leave together. He was confident she was coming.

As he bit into his sandwich, he spit it back out. Mustard, why had he ordered extra mustard? Sometimes being in someone else's body was a pain in the ass. He threw the sandwich away, and gleefully ate his bag of Fritos instead. At least they tasted terrific. He glanced down at the stack of napkins on the table taking one off of the top, he sat in silence and idly doodled on it. He had two hours before the train left. Kim would be here before then.

After 20 minutes, he got up to throw his food away, but when he did, he stared down at the napkin and frowned. He doodled a perfect sketch of Elizabeth Webber. He was a terrible artist; he couldn't even draw stick figures. He'd drawn this portrait without meaning to, He was disliking the situation more and more by the minute.

Why of all things did he draw a picture of her? Drew wanted nothing to do with Elizabeth. He wanted nothing more than to start his life over with Kim. Franco was a murdering bastard who convinced a nice and, admittedly, very beautiful lady he was changed. He didn't deserve his body back. Drew turned around and headed toward the train stations bathroom determined to tear the sketch to shreds. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make himself do it.

As he walked further down the hall, his head was pounding. He leaned against the wall and saw a painting of a brilliant sunflower. He felt a strange pang at the sight. Like somehow Sunflowers caused him pain. He walked closer to the picture, trying to study it. Drew was practically in tears now.

Then, as if he was punched in the stomach, a flash of a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair and a warm smile appeared behind his eyes. He realized immediately that this was Kiki Jerome. Sunflowers had been Kiki's favorite and they had filled the church at her funeral. Kiki was like a daughter to him, and she was gone. He glanced down at the wadded-up sketch again, and three words came to him as clear as day. Elizabeth Imogene Webber.

In that instant, she was his wife, she was his soulmate and he wanted her back. How could he have been so stupid? Elizabeth, Jake, Aiden, and Cameron were his family. All he thought of now was Cam. The boy had to be blaming himself for all of this. He saved Cam, and now he needed to check on him.

God, what was he doing waiting here for Kim? His heart hammered at the thought. Drew still loved Kim, which was confusing because, at this moment, Franco hated her. How could Kim do this to Elizabeth? She was her friend. Elizabeth was there for her when Oscar was dying and after he was gone. Kim's repayment was to run off with Elizabeth's husband. This entire situation was disgusting.

Franco was about to turn and run for the door when there was a light tap on his shoulder. He turned around and was face to face with Dr. Kimberly Nero. She'd shown up, and she was carrying a bag with her." The expression on his face must have said how he was feeling.

"Is something wrong?" She looked nervously around.

"Everything is wrong," Franco snarled. "You shouldn't be here."

"I've been wrestling with this all day. I was going to come and tell you I loved Julian and you should leave."

"But..." He was trying to get her to own up to her real motives.

"This is wrong on every level. It is so unfair to Liz and Julian, but I can't help myself. We lost 17 years together Drew and no matter whose body you are living in, I love you. I want to be with you." Before he managed to say anything more, Kim was leaning in for a kiss. He grabbed her wrists and stopped her, staring daggers into her eyes.

"Drew isn't in control right now," Franco quipped. "And I can't believe you would do this to Elizabeth and me, does my marriage mean nothing to you?"

"FRANCO!" Kim squeaked in horror. He gave her one of the smiles that made people remember he had once been a crazed killer.

"Good guess." He retorted.

"How? when did this happen?" The look on Kim's face was somewhere between panic and confusion.

"A few minutes ago. I drew this." He handed her the picture. " and then I saw this painting of the sunflowers and suddenly it came rushing back." Franco explained still clenching his fists in anger. He didn't make eye contact with Kim.

"Is Drew still in there?" She asked, there was a strange hopefulness in her tone which made Franco blaze with anger.

"I still have all of his memories and feelings, but I was never Drew. I am a man whose memories were stolen by a psychopath. And you aren't any better than Shiloh for taking advantage of me. My wife and my children are all that matters. I thought Elizabeth was your best friend." Franco screamed.

"She is, and you know I tried to fight it." She whimpered.

"Not hard enough," Franco said. "I remember Kim, every time I kissed you; you kissed back. You called me Drew when no one else would. It was far too easy to break down your barriers so that you let me in. You are a horrible person. I want to kill you right now, but I won't because I wouldn't do it to my family. I hate that there is this part of me which even now still feels the love Drew had for you, but it is nothing, a pale fleeting shadow of what I feel for Elizabeth."

"Drew, please just come back," Kim begged to try to reach Drew.

"He's gone, Kim, and he was gone 17 years ago. It's time to move on." Franco grabbed his bag. "My name is Franco Baldwin, and if you will excuse me, I need to go and find my wife." At those words, he walked from the station, leaving a sobbing Kim behind him.

-/-

Franco hired an Uber to take him to the Brownstone. He had already returned Drew's rental car, and he didn't want to pay for another one. The boys would be at school. He had no idea if Elizabeth was working today or not. He didn't care. He needed to find her either way. He had done and said horrible things to her, and he had cheated on her with Kim. He needed to beg for her forgiveness and hope beyond hope that their marriage was savable. He pounded frantically on the door. After a few seconds, a man finally answered. He had to do a double take.

"Nikolas?" Franco knew the entire sorted history and was secretly nervous about Nikolas being in his home. On top of that, Nikolas was supposed to be dead. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Is it Drew or Franco, not sure what I should call you, I'm here because Elizabeth needed my help. I came back a few days ago, faked my death, it's a whole thing, but Aiden is home sick from school so Elizabeth asked if I could stay with him."

"Franco." He heard a little voice say behind Nikolas. Franco couldn't control himself. He ran to the little boy and scooped him into his arms, pulling him close. "I missed you so much," Aiden said. Nikolas stared at the entire scene, eyes bulging.

"I missed you too, buddy." He pulled the boy hard against him.

"Does this mean you are going to be here to help me bake my cake for the state junior championships next week?" Aiden asked, excited.

"I wouldn't miss it for anything," Franco promised. "You look pale bud, why don't you go upstairs and rest."

"OK. I'm so glad you are home, dad." The very sound of Aiden saying the word dad nearly made Franco's heart explode. The child ran back upstairs with an elation that made Franco feel like everything would be ok.

"I take it from that scene you are Franco, something changed," Nikolas said. Franco, who barely knew the man smiled.

"I don't have time to explain right now, but yes, I'm Franco." He said. "I need to go find my wife."

"Look, I don't know if I'm a fan yet or not. I hated you before, but Liz loves you a lot, and I love her. Seeing you with Aiden just now showed me that he loves you too. So I can stay here for a little longer with your son, while you go and get your wife." Nik said. Franco couldn't help himself; he hugged Nik hard around the waist.

"Thanks," Franco said. As soon as he ran out the door, Nikolas grabbed the phone and made a call. "Epiphany, yes it is Nikolas Cassadine, I was wondering if you could do me a little favor..."

-/-

"PIPH, I can't clean out the art therapy room yet, I told you I'm not ready and what if a patient needs me," Epiphany smiled widely at Elizabeth ignoring her ranting.

"Monica asked me to have someone remove Franco's things and store them somewhere else. She is looking for a new therapist for the program. I know this is hard, but Franco's things need to be taken out, and the hospital is a ghost town. Please baby it would be better if you do it than someone who doesn't know him." She was being a little theatrical, but Nikolas had explained to her that Franco was back, and on his way here, she wanted to make the moment perfect for Elizabeth.

Liz let out a long sigh and walked to the room. She stared around it dejectedly. This was one of the last places where she still felt close to Franco and she wasn't ready to give it up yet. She stared at the painting he had been working on. It was still on the easel. It was covered, and Franco had told her it was a special surprise. She didn't have the heart to peek. She only hoped one day he could finish it.

Epiphany watched her for a second, before heading down the hall. As Nik had requested Elizabeth would be waiting in the art therapy room when Franco arrived. A part of her wished she could spy on them, but they deserved a moment. She might have once had doubts about Franco, but the love he and Elizabeth shared was nothing short of awe-inspiring. They were perfect together.

As she heard the beep of the elevator opening, she craned her head around the station to see. Franco stepped out running a hand through his hair. His mannerisms were all Franco with quirky energy and a face wrecked by worry.

"Epiphany!" he shouted. "Where is Elizabeth?"

"Relax, Nikolas called me, and I have her in your art room on the pretense that things needed to be cleaned up. We are pretty dead so she didn't have any patients to care for; I wanted to give the two of you a private moment." She gave him a knowing smile.

"Thank you." He grinned. "I could kiss you right now."

"Go kiss your wife instead." She teased. "You deserve it." Franco looked more touched by these words than she had ever seen him.

-/-

Elizabeth was about to lift the cloth when there was a wrapping sound on the door frame. She turned, expecting to see Epiphany. Instead, the man who had her husband's face stood in the doorway.

"What do you want now? I thought you made it clear you were headed out of town." She said. She couldn't face him here, in Franco's place.

"I love you, that's it. I hope it's enough. I just so love you." He said, a direct quote of his jailhouse vows to her. She stopped dead the edge of the cloth still in her fingers.

"FRANCO!" she ran to him, staring into his eyes. He looked back at her with the expression of pure love he always gave only to her. This man was, without a doubt, her husband. He pulled her into a deep kiss that always made everything around them melt away. There were tears on both of their cheeks, and neither cared, because they were finally together again. 


End file.
